Elephants get a cooling shower from firefighters, to the delight of onlookers

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Oakland firefighter Eduardo Ramos, of Station 28, sprays water to cool down elephants. - Jane Tyska — Bay Area News Group

Visitors watch as Oakland firefighters spray water to cool down elephants at the Oakland Zoo in Oakland on Thursday. The elephants have a bathing pool in their enclosure, but zookeepers thought this would also help them cool down during the recent hot weather. - Jane Tyska — Bay Area News Group

Oakland firefighters spray water to cool down elephants at the Oakland Zoo in Oakland on Thursday. The elephants have a bathing pool in their enclosure, but zookeepers thought this would also help them cool down during the recent hot weather. - Jane Tyska — Bay Area News Group

OAKLAND >> Oakland firefighter Mark Perez has trained his hose on plenty of fires, but spraying water on elephants?

Firefighters from Station 28 in the East Oakland hills volunteered their time to hose down the Oakland Zoo’s elephants Thursday and help them beat the heat. Temperatures were in the 70s and not quite as hot as they’ve been, with cloud cover and unusual humidity. Colleen Kinzley, zoo curator, said it’s highly unlikely the elephants would overheat, but zookeepers held the activity more for their enjoyment and to create an interesting environment for the pachyderms.

“We think that they’re going to enjoy it, but we really don’t know,” said Kinzley.

Kinzley said elephants are social animals who live in a matriarchal society led by the females. The zoo has three female elephants, Lisa, M’Dunda and Donna, and one male named Osh. They all appeared to enjoy the water as it splashed down from above, and Lisa frolicked in their wading pool, occasionally coming to the edge of the water to suck up treats with her long brown trunk.

“I just love the complexity of their society and their individual personalities,” Kinzley said.

Parents and their children, along with school groups, watched as the zoo hosted this unusual activity for the first time and the firefighters unfurled their hoses adjacent to the elephant habitat.

“It’s fun coming out and getting to put on a show for the kids and the community,” said Oakland firefighter Mark Perez. “Some of the time we run into people, it’s a bad situation.”